#136: New faces for 2015 and beyond, Part I

One of the first trades made by new President of Baseball Operations/ General Manager John Hart was to trade Gold Glove outfielder Jason Heyward and reliever/long jumper Jordan Walden to St. Louis for right handed pitcher Shelby Miller and minor league prospect Tyrell Jenkins. While Miller has battled some inconstancy during his two years as a part of the St Louis rotation , he has shown constant improvement and when coupled with young Julio Teheran and Alex Woods, it should form the core of a very good major league rotation.

The 6 ‘ 3” 215 pound Miller hales from Houston Texas. He fills a dire need the Braves have found themselves in for starting pitching. The Braves have a promising starting pitcher who will be under full club control for the next four years. Of course, pitchers may be the most fragile human beings on earth with the difference between long term success and sudden flame out being a few strands of sinew attached between their ulna and humerus.

The 24 year old Miller features a complement of a 94 mph fastball and a plus curveball which he used in combination 98% of the time. After the All-Star break in 2014, he added a sinker into his repertoire with very positive results. The addition of the sinker added a critical third pitch needed by every successful starting pitcher. Miller’s major league history has shown an increase in the number of innings thrown each season as he matures. It is not unreasonable to expect Miller to exceed 200 innings pitched in 2015.

While Miller’s won loss record of 10-9 in 2014 might be somewhat deceiving in his true value, fans should remember that the Braves primary lefty and former number one draft pick, Mike Minor, posted a record of 6-12 last season. So, rather than throw out a bunch of stats, let’s just state that Miller is project to be a top of the order starter for the Braves. We all know it begins with pitching. While it will be tough for the 2015 Braves to compete head to head with the stellar staff assembled by the Washington Nationals and the up and coming flame throwers in New York and Miami, the Braves still have to play those games on the field. We cannot simply write those games off.

The other addition to the Braves’ roster in the trade was young Tyrell Jenkins. Another lanky Texas native. He has experience some shoulder problems but may have discovered the cause of his problems being related to taking a very long stride on the mound. Do not expect Jenkins to appear in Atlanta anytime soon and will likely begin 2015 at double A or high A ball but it is expected he will advance quickly as he perfects his change up to go along with his 2 seam and 4 seam fastball. He pitched well this year in the Arizona Fall League against older and more experienced batters. He has been projected by St Louis brain trust as a potential top of the rotation starter.

126 Responses to “#136: New faces for 2015 and beyond, Part I”

You too CL, now you see why you get the big bucks around here, getting everything to work properly can drive you crazy. I could even find the in basket. I have up to part four completed and will mail them soon.

Don’t blink folks, the new leads will come pretty regular now, I hope.

Well, the “news” from yesterday really is not news since we have simply been waiting for it to happen. But I’ll recap anyway, since there is nothing else to report.

The complicated paperwork (somebody probably had to get paid off) was finally finished with the Cuban OF Dian Toscano and he was officially announced yesterday. It was a major league deal, meaning his contract is guaranteed and he must be added to the team’s 40-man roster. To accommodate his addition, Jose Constanza has been DFA’d.

Toscano will open the season at AAA Gwinnett to get accustomed to professional baseball and for the Braves to see where his skill set stands. He bats and throws LH and projects to be at least a very good #4 OF, at best a very good starting LF or CF.

His profile, courtesy of Mr. O’B: Toscano hit .356 with a .440 on-base percentage and a .452 slugging percentage during the 2012-13 season, when he played for Villa Clara in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, the nation’s premier league. In five seasons in that league, he had a .300 average and .396 OBP with seven triples and 13 homers in 614 at-bats.

Toscano has played mostly left field but has enough speed to play center, some scouts have said. The Braves want to see him in center field during spring training. The general consensus so far has been that he lacks the desired arm strength for right field.

So there ya go. High OBP, plus speed, fair power. Fits the new organizational model.

There is one more piece of intrigue that I missed. Even though Eury Perez was signed to a minor league deal, he was added to the 40-man roster. I didn’t account for that. And his addition has implications.

Jonny Gomes has not yet been officially announced and thus not added to the 40-man himself. And we are at 40. From what I read, Gomes’ physical was done yesterday, but too late in the day for the medical staff to give their hearty “thumbs up”… not that there is any concern. It’s just procedural. But it means yet another guy on the roster faces DFA limbo. That probably happens today, maybe even happening as I type.

Constanza was an easy pick. Who now is the most likely to be designated?

Law: “[The Braves] were a bottom-5 system when the offseason started, but six trades later, they’ve built up a stash of prospects that makes up for five years of execrable drafts and very little production from their Latin American efforts. Ten of their top 12 prospects have appeared on at least one of my past three top-100 rankings.”

VOX, They have a couple of choices, maybe Ian Thomas or Jamie but I think a trade would be more likely. Someone who needs to fill out a minor league roster. Of course, it won’t be so hard when they can begin to put guys on the DL…. Other teams have the same problem and you always look for the teams with the deep minor league systems.

It kind of comes down to who they think they can sneak by on a waiver wire. Like you said, Jose was easy. Some other possibilities could be Cunningham or Terdoslavich . Yeah, I know, the Braves have been hoping they have not topped out at quad A but the Braves keep picking up outfielders and there is only so much room. That is the price you pay when sign un-proven players to major league contracts.

Can you think of any other major league club who could use either of the last two guys mentioned in their outfield? The Braves won’t cut anyone loose outright and would still add them to their minor league roster as insurance but heck, they did not give either of the two outfielders a chance in September last season.

Terdo is still to young to be a bench guy, he needs the at bats to stay sharp. Same for Cunningham.

If you made me choose between the 2 aforementioned guys, Terdo and Cunningham, I think I’d keep Cunningham. I like his game. I don’t know if he’ll ever be more than a 4th OF, but he’s a more complete player than Terdo, who is a little challenged defensively. And he can run like the wind. That alone makes him more valuable off my bench, IMO.

That said, they have very similar numbers. Both are switch-hitters. Terdo has more power, but he also has more K’s. Cunningham can play all 3 OF positions well. Terdo can play the corners and 1B. In a pinch, he might could play 3B. He came up as a 3B but began to make a ton of E’s there as his body filled out to a larger frame. Cunningham had the better season in 2014 at AAA Gwinnett.

But they are both still developing and relatively young. And only God knows the ceiling of either. Still, they are both at about the age (27 & 26) where they either make The Show, or become classic AAAA guys filling out organizational depth.

Another guy who is a candidate is Elmer Reyes. He’s a SS blocked by Andy Simmons and flanked by another 2 guys, Phil Gosselin and Jace Peterson, who can play the position. Not to mention Jose Peraza who came up as a SS and just recently moved to 2B. Elmer might be the guy they try to sneak though or trade. He’s also a guy with no shot at making the major league roster and will be the Gwinnett SS in 2015.

Per Ken Rosenthal: Brandon Beachy’s agent, Rob Martin: “Brandon has decided not to sign a contract at this time. With each day his arm is getting stronger and he’s feeling even more confident about his progress. Thus, he is going to continue with his throwing program and make a decision closer to spring training.“ Beachy, a free agent, is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery.

Translation: There is no one interested at the moment, and no contract offers to consider. Hopefully someone will be interested in March when they are filling out rosters.

If they wanted to speed up the game, they would do away with the DH… Don’t they really mean they want more offense?

Girl’s softball is pretty speedy and there is a lot of offense but I can’t remember ever seeing 40,000 fans at a game… Heck, I’ve never seen more than 400, but I digress…. You don’t see guys playing football in the summer because they would all have heat stroke by the 2nd quarter.

It’s why they should not be playing World Series games in November (at night)!

Anyway, the pace of the game is part of the game. It is why I hate pro basketball, no defense…. Just run and shoot. Now, it’s not like they still allow the diamond and one any longer but they allow zones. What if they said in pro football, no more zone defenses, only man coverage? Well then,may as well stop having TV time outs. Talk about slow play, pro football in person is excruciatingly slow, guys always waiting for the beer commercials to end so they can begin play.

So be truthful about what you want commissioner. Teams are constructed to utilize their allotment of players to maximize their chances to win games. The reason to play nine innings is to sell more beer….

Yep, I’m sure some clubs have expressed an interest in Beachy but minor league contracts etc. At this point, he has little to lose by waiting. No one gets through spring training with all their arms intact.

I know a lot of folks were upset the Braves did not re-sign John Smoltz at the end of his career but Boston took a chance on him for more money and it kind of blew up in their faces. If Beach can pitch again, he will get an incentive laden contract. I’m surprised someone took a chance on Medlin.

It’s really funny to read some of the comments made about the Braves and John Hart’s MO on rebuilding the team. No, the Braves have not spent a lot of money like LA or DC but every franchise has their own particular business model. No different from college football conferences. What does a particular team look for, what is the real goal? Win the World Series or be competitive or just play the part of the Washington Generals?

Vox, while stats have a place in evaluating a player, what it doesn’t tell you is whether or not a player has a nagging lat pull or if he is worried about his new wife/girl friend/significant other finding out abut his recent tryst with the Hooter’s girl. Or if he is quick or just fast or has picked up a tell from a pitcher or coach or a million other things that could be the difference between when a kid is signed or lost in the system somewhere because there was a million dollar bonus baby signed in his place who the team brain trust could not afford to allow to fail.

Soooo… Just like the folks in New York city mocked the Weatherman because the did not have snowmaggedon, They are positive Samoa will be under water by 2050….

If stats were the be all end all, Dan Uggla would have led the Braves to the World Series and BJ Upton would have been the MVP…

Braves sign Eric Stults to a minor league contract and given an invite to compete for the 5th starter’s slot. Boy, the pitcher’s locker room is going to need to add some temporary trailers to handle the overflow.

“He definitely has the skill set, You look at the overall package — he has an overpowering fastball, his breaking ball is something he started to use more once he arrived at the Major League level and his changeup is a work in progress. But when you look at his size and his competitiveness, he has that bulldog mentality.” – courtesy of Bowman

Maybe Alex Wood can show Folty the change in grip on his breaking ball – the grip Ervin Santana showed him last spring – that transformed his season.

Good morning folks, after being super careful this winter, got all my shots and everything, I have still come down with distemper… Bummer. Trying figure the likely source but it is dang near impossible.

At least I am not scheduled to pitch anytime soon and I have sent CL three additional blog leads so I am going to request a few days of sick leave from the boss lady…

Anyhoo, I have my bucket near-by so no problems with sudden stomach ailments.

Mr. Gil is sleeping, after taking meds for fever. I will try to keep him warm and comfortable, until this stomach bug passes. He is running a fever, so I expect he will sleep a lot. Hope everyone out there is well. Talk to you later. Blessing Ms. Josie

John Buck, Jesus Flores, Chris O’Dowd… and those are just the retreads. Hart says he needs veteran catchers to work with the bevy of young pitching. I can see trading Schlosser, but Hale? Unless they feel this Briceno kid is a bona fide prospect, I don’t get it. But we do have an abundance of young pitching now. Perhaps they felt Hale had reached his ceiling. I don’t know. I still maintain that the #5 starter job is Folty’s to lose. New signee Stults may have just inherited the swingman job.

John Buck, Jesus Flores, Chris O’Dowd… and those are just the retreads.

Sorry… I made a mistake there. Chris O’Dowd is not a retread. He’a a no tread. He’s a 23 year old still in A ball. I mistook him for a different Chris. Braves probably asked for him so they’d have enough mitts to catch all the pitchers they’ve invited to spring. And they gave up Schlosser, a guy they non-tendered just 4 months ago to clear some roster space, then re-signed. So… no big deal.

Back in the saddle again after taking a weekend off from everything to visit my son at college. And I truly take it off from everything… it’s all about the family. I did manage to find the “Big Game” (not sure I have permission to use the phrase Super Bowl®) last night on XM Radio during the long drive back home. Oddly, the national broadcast was not available, nor the Seahawks’ home broadcast. Only the Patriots’ home broadcast was made available to us on XM, and those announcers were awful. They were more “homer” than college announcers, and that’s saying something. And they were just not very good on top of that. But that’s what we had and that’s what I listened to. Always makes me appreciate our Braves announcers whom I think are simply the best. Even Don Sutton with his cliches and misplaced emphasis are head and shoulders above those chaotic callers. At least you can understand him clearly and he doesn’t insult the other team’s players. If I had heard the color analyst, who was constantly yelling and out of breath, call a Seahawk player “classless” one more time, I may have puked in the car. I found it funny that a early in the game he noted that Tom Brady seemed to be throwing his passes low. He attributed it to being rushed in the pocket. I figure the ball is heavier and tougher to grip after being properly inflated. Funny how that topic never came up. Talk about “classless”…

I avoided watching the game until 8PM last night, saw the final drive on which the Seahawks score to tie the game. I did watch the 2nd half, Avoided the half time show… Sorry but not a Katy Perry fan… Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty good game and while I was rooting for the Seahawks, well, no money lost on my part. I was exciting to the end.

And, I sure wish Chrysler Corporation made a car that was half as good as their commercials.

The good news, I awoke this morning and for the first time since Thursday, I feel human again. Now I worry about Ms Josie coming down with it… I told her the goon news was it was not a fatal illness, you just wished you were dead…

Everyday day gets us a little closer to some real baseball news. Yipee… or not, I intend to spend more time watching Braves alumni as they make their way thru the season. Oh to have the physical ability as well as the financial wherewithal to support my additions. It would be golf and baseball all the time….

Now it’s just give away stuff I can no longer use… BAH!

For sure, it would have been a lot less time working…. and more time playing….

February is a cursed month, t’is why I always tried to go on vacation to some place warm because it allowed me to miss the worse part of winter. Ah well,

Time to suck it up and get over it. It will be warm soon enough and we shalt complain about the return of global warming…

They always bring in a ton to catch all the pitchers. Gotta have alot of pitchers as none of them throw many innings early. As the innings increase, some of the pitchers will get reassigned, and the catchers as well. It always happens that way.

“[Mike] Minor said he has been pain-free since beginning his normal preseason throwing program a few weeks ago. But given that the shoulder proved to be a lingering problem all of last year, Atlanta cannot responsibly assume Minor will be in the club’s rotation to start the year until he shows he can pitch on a regular basis during Spring Training.”

Uh… were we made aware that he was experiencing shoulder pain throughout the season? I don’t remember that…

Maybe the best part of that whole article I linked above is the scouting report on Manny Banuelos. I recommend you take the 1:49 and listen to Jim Callis’ description. He’s a dark horse candidate to make the rotation (Folty’s still my favorite), and actually excites me a little. 90+ fb with movement; 3 “out” pitches that he throws with equal confidence… what’s not to like? He’s still a kid, and a TJ guy who already has 1 season under his belt in his recovery. We all know that the 2nd season after recovery is where pitchers get “back” to their norm. I see him as competing with Minor for a future in Atlanta’s rotation.

But given that the shoulder proved to be a lingering problem all of last year, Atlanta cannot responsibly assume Minor will be in the club’s rotation to start the year until he shows he can pitch on a regular basis during Spring Training.

Yep, it sure would explain a lot…. Funny thing how these things seem to pop up at arbitration time. Of course, it would make it even harder to move Minor if that is what the Braves intended.

Maybe it gives me a little renewed respect for Minor now knowing he took one for the team in playing hurt all last season.

but, you are right, and here we were thinking his problems were related to a whole different part of his anatomy.

I’m thinking the Braves might surprise some folks this season but most likely would surprise themselves if they were to actually play better than .500 ball this season. I don’t think they will lose 90 games this season but staying close to .500 might be challenging.

I’m thinking it might be nice to see the Braves finish on the up swing this season rather than their recent perchance to fade severely at the end. .

.500 is about where I have them pegged as well. I think they will be fun to watch at any rate. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing guys like Folty and Jace Peterson and even Zoilo. I guess that I just got a little tired of the same old bunch underachieving. At least we have some fresh faces without the high expectations.

Salcedo was a supreme disappointment. Yet another example of how the minor league system had atrophied so badly. I think we all got lulled into a false comfort level because the major league team seemed to be competing each year, even if they couldn’t ever get past the 1st round of playoffs. Each day of this off-season we get a better snapshot of how badly the pipeline had been damaged while the parent club got by on band-aids and duct tape.

It will be settled out of court Raisons… Just no need to go through all that trouble.

Maybe Minor is trying to goad the Braves into trading him for someone less troublesome. There is such a small difference in the money. Of course the Braves did not make it any easier for the team to trade Minor by leaking the sore shoulder info.

Perhaps both will happen but after the settlement. Maybe Minor wants to go somewhere to a team that has a chance this season. He might get his wish or he might end up in Houston. Who knows at this point?

Yes, you would have to think Pittsburg has either a lot of young arms or believe they can fix Salcedo.

The Braves’ minor league system reminds me of what happened to the Expos while MLB owned the team. They were forced to field a team but they MLB owners choked off the money going to their minor league system.

They stayed competitive for a while but had no depth. One has to believe Liberty Media had the same business model for the Braves. The payroll for the major league club is only a portion of what the team’s total outlay is.

Reminds me of most operations run by the government, any government, local or federal. They never believe in maintaining a building or vehicle. It’s run to failure. Then bemoan the fact that X problem can only be solved by building new.

It does little good to fix the leak in the roof when the trusses are rotted underneath. Your analogy was a great one VOX. The reason termites are such a bad sign is because they indicate a deeper problem. Termites only eat rotted wood.

What we are seeing right now is a purge of everything Frank Wren….. All the monuments and portraits are being taken down and his name removed from the history books. Any reminder of the Frank Wren years are being slowly being erased. I do wonder how the Braves will commemorate all the glory years of the Atlanta Braves.

2 weeks before Spring Training even begins, but I think we have a pretty good idea how the team will shape up for Opening Day. I’m gonna give my take on the Opening Day roster now, and we’ll see how it compares to what they break camp with.

** That last spot puzzles me a little, but Fredi almost certainly will keep a 3rd C. I think it’ll be a battle between grizzled veteran C John Buck and not quite as grizzled veteran C Jesus Flores. Neither has a ton of experience as a PH, and their numbers off the bench are fairly comparable. This one could simply come down to who has the best spring, but my gut tells me that 1 of them will be traded in Spring to a team in need of a good BUC.

Listening to Dan Plesac yesterday talk about the difference in the mindset of a player who going into spring training knows he has a place on the team vs a guy who has to make an impression while trying to earn a spot.

It is so night and day as far as being able to work on things vs making an immediate impact.

Billy Ripkin also said guys need to know who they are competing against but no matter, just do your best because someone is always watching. I think guys like Kelly Johnson still have an outside chance on making the team but some others too.

I will be curious to see how Jim Johnson performs this spring. He has a nice pedigree but I do not know what other things are/were going on with Jim Johnson.

We have already read that Grille was hampered by a pulled lat muscle this past season. His return to health could prove huge for the Braves and their bullpen.

While it is debatable as to the starting staffs of other NL East teams being head and shoulders above the Braves, many games will be decided in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings and the Braves have boasted as strong a relief corps as any in baseball. It will again depend on how much offense the Braves can generate on where the Atlanta nine will finish in 2015.

As for the Braves carrying three catchers, Flores is the more capable offensive threat but I would grade Buck above him as far as defense. Still, the Braves and 29 other teams need to get through spring training to see who will break camp with the big team.

It is a long season, hanging around .500 the first half and then finishing strong would be a welcome change from the past 9 years or so…

Man, some folks here have baseball fever! 😉
As you know, I am a glass half full kind of person (Hey, if Brian Williams can make crap up, so can I!) 😛
Anywho…as you know, I am not sold on the bullpen. Shocker, I know….Grilli is 38. How many 38 Y.O. are expected to pitch a lot of innings in the 7th/8th inning this year? And since this team is likely to once again be in the bottom 10 of run scoring, starters will be taken out early for pinch hitters, and the bullpen will be worked, hard… And Jim Johnson….was beyond terrible last year, likely the worst ERA in baseball of any bullpen guy with more than 50 innings.
But, Roger can sometimes work miracles. He may have spotted what was making his sinker not sink last year. But, I find it a bit hard to count on a guy with a 7.09 ERA in 2014 to be a shutdown guy…
TBC (vague feeling post will be lost, so letting paranoia win again! 😉 )

One of those things I don’t like about F.G. players playing hurt. Yeah, I know, players need to know the difference of being sore, and playing through soreness, being injured…but sometimes a manager needs to know that too. You could see it with Simmons on the field..for a week or two, he looked terrible. I thought at the time, wow…have him running on bad ankles, might make him throw the ball sooner, harder…mess up that kids arm, for what? He should have gone on the DL. Couldn’t have helped with his swing either.
Now we hear Minor pitched with a sore shoulder all year…ok…why? DId they know all along his shoulder was sore? 5 starts in June, 5.90 ERA. July, 5 starts, 7.00 ERA. If you don’t DL a guy, at least skip a start or two…Now, August was much better, 3.21 ERA. But, Sept, 5.21 (I guess he skipped his last start?)
It just seems to me, with young guys…if you see they are willing to play hurt, but are stinking it up on the field, you pat them on the back, thank them for the effort, and rest them. Especially when they aren’t helping the team. It’s not like David Hale would have been worse then Minor….oh well. What do I know, I’m just a dude on a computer….lots of those out there..
Now, for the rest of the team. I’m not sure what we will see offensively , except less homers. A lot less…hopefully, a lot less strikeouts too.
IF Jose Peraza makes the team…and succeeds, well…its a totally different team. He’s faster than anyone the braves have had on the field in many a moon. Then Nike M, truly replaces JHey, batting 2nd, and then hopefully FF has runners on all the time, and hopefully teams can’t pitch around him, and he can’t fall into bad habits. Still not sure who bats behind him.
But, like V said above, it was tiring seeing the ceiling(basement? ) of certain players, and it would be nice to see the fresh blood busting it out there, like Zoilo, so…hopefully the offense will be more…interesting. We shall see…like so many things about this team, it’s fairly fuzzy, IMO
As for the rotation…well, it will likely be quite interesting.
I think the braves already tried to pawn Minor off on other teams and they said, thanks but no thanks…especially if they heard the rumors about a sore arm…so I wonder if he has a bad spring, and 1-2 young arms look great, would they send him down? Wait…probably too much time in the majors. Plus, they are going to be paying him what, 4 Mil or something? Can’t have a top salary guy in the bullpen or the minors.
But, if 2 guys look great, shame to see them fight for 5th, while Minor stinks it up….again, just guessing with no way to know…..but that’s part of why we love baseball, right? the Unknown factor? 🙂

V, I didn’t even recall the name Edward Salcedo….so the only reason I know this is cuz I looked him up…he’s actually 23, not 24…I guess part of the reason the Pirates are taking a chance on him. They love to buy low on starters, perhaps their talent evaluators see something in him. Or he always hit their M.L. teams well.
But yeah, another great pick Wren!

Cuban IF Hector Olivera had a huge day in a “showcase game” yesterday in the DR, ripping 2 HR’s and an opposite field 2B. The RH hitter Olivera is a 2B/3B and was considered the #6 rated player in the Cuba prior to his defection. He’s a fairly big guy standing at 6’2″, 220 lbs. He played both 2B and 3B in this game. Scouts also clocked him at 6.65 seconds in the 60-yd dash, so he has plus speed to go with his power. He hit .316/.412/.474 with 7 HR’s and just 25 K’s in 273 PA’s during the 2013-2014 season in Cuba’s Serie Nacional.

Olivera will be 30 in April, so he won’t command a long term commitment from anyone. And it’s being reported that the Braves held a private workout for him last Sunday in the DR. Fredi and Coppy were both in attendance, along with a number of Braves special assistants and the organization’s top two scouts. The Dodgers, Giants and Padres also had scouts at yesterday’s workout, and the A’s, Rangers, and Yankees have also been linked to him. MLB has not declared Olivera a FA yet, though that should be coming soon.

There isn’t any local reporting on Olivera, so it’s hard to get a read on the Braves interest level… whether they could potentially offer him a deal or not. But if they thought enough of him to hold a private workout last week and send their top reps, it must be more than just a cursory interest.

Now the opinion section: (transition homage to The Scribe)

I think he could be a decent fit in the short term for a team short on power and in need of a 2B… and possibly 3B. He’d likely need to start out in AAA for a month or so to get his professional baseball feet wet, but I could see him at 2B in 2015 and 3B in 2016-2017. He might make a good RH power bat to slot behind Freddie in the lineup and provide some protection. As I said, there are no real clues as to the team’s real interest level, but it does make for good conversation with just a couple of weeks left to the start of Spring Training.

It needs to be noted that Meneses is already 22 and has generally hit against younger pitchers in his 3 seasons in American professional baseball. AA might be the level that reveals if he has a real chance at succeeding at the major league level or if he’s just picking on kids. Also, he apparently is not a very good fielder, bouncing between LF, RF and even some 1B. LF is his likely eventual position. It’ll be interesting to see what he does in 2015… if his progress continues or if he stalls.

Bowman: “The Braves are still evaluating the possibility of acquiring a left-handed hitter who could strengthen the uncertain makeup of the lineup they will use against right-handed starting pitchers.”

For this guy sitting here in God’s country, I would like nothing better than for switch-hitting Todd Cunningham to have the Spring of his life and have a magical “Charles Thomas”-like season. I think alot of the kid and hope he can prove to be more than a AAAA kind of player. He has been working out with his former college team since early January and his coach says he looks great and appears to have filled out his frame some. Cunningham has already shown moderate power… it’d be a real treat if the kid came in and showed more Gomes-like power. It helps that Cunningham plays all 3 OF positions very well… maybe even a better CF than BJ.

Well, it appears the Braves are collecting old pitchers the way some people collect stamps. Yesterday they signed both Matt Capps and Jose Veras to minor league deals, bringing their stockpile of ex-closers to 4 with Jason Grilli and Jim Johnson. And on the surface, it does seem a little weird. Add that to their collection of ex-starters, Wandy Rodriquez, Chien-Ming Wang and Eric Stults, and the full compliment of non-roster pitchers invited to spring bulges to 11. The total number of pitchers set to attend Spring Training is 33.

Now lets look at this. The one area on the team that seems the most stable is their pitching. They have 4 of their 5 starters already settled and clear competition for the #5. There will also be competition for the bullpen where about 10 capable relievers will battle for 7 slots. So why all the pitchers?

This is a fairly sly way of storing up some potential trade chips for the month of March. There will be plenty of teams that will be looking to add a veteran presence to their staff before Opening Day. And the Braves have signed many of these guys on non-guaranteed minor league deals that will cost them nothing if they can’t prove to be effective. In other words these deals are no-risk, high potential deals. The team has nothing to lose.

Well, the Braves have to send someone to pitch in all those away games this spring. We all know how much vets hate to travel by bus…

I was just sitting here mis-remembering a lot of events in my life. Funny thing about mis-remembering, Those things which make the best stories are often times the things you would rather forget.

I can truthfully say, the few heroic deeds I have performed in life have been mis-remembered by a lot of other folks who would rather the truth not come out. Most heroic deeds are those in which you do not think about in the moment but just do, if you thought about them, common sense would take over and prevent you from doing such foolish things.

Most of the real “war stories” I hear are all about the fact some poor smuck is scared s***less…. Things are seen they would just as soon forget.

Anyway, the medals often go to those who have the best publicist.

Perhaps the most heroic thing a person can do is work everyday at a job they hate because they feel a responsibility to their family. That my friends takes real guts….

Now baseball…. I will be soooo happy when warm weather gets here, thank goodness for a little global warming because otherwise we would all be freezing to death.

I loved Dave Kingman. He is the first hitter I can recall as a youngster who was content to strike out while trying to hit mammoth home runs. And he did hit some mammoth home runs. I know he played many more years with several other teams, but I’ll always picture him in Cubbie blue. Don’t know why…

I do think a couple of these signings were good ones. I think Jose Veras will make an impact. I think Eric Stults could make an impact. But obviously if any of these fellas show they have something left in the tank, they will become a trade chip late in the spring.

And I think that’s the strategy. What is the one thing many teams are scrambling for before breaking camp? It’s usually a veteran 5th starter or a veteran arm for the bullpen. Well, the Braves ought to be able to open up shop for both.

And as I look through his list, I do not understand his love for Cleveland – especially at #6. Better than ATL’s starters? Meh… maybe, but certainly not #6.

I am a believer that the Top 3 of Teheran, Wood and Miller are going to all have great seasons. My only question is whether they’ll get adequate run support. Did you know that last year Alex Wood had the 3rd lowest run support among NL starters? The Braves scored 1 or 0 runs in 12 of Wood’s 24 starts, and just 2 runs in 4 of the other 12. Crikey that sucks! Yet somehow Woody managed to win 8 of those games. He’s special, folks.

MLBTR: [Todd] Coffey missed the 2013 season after undergoing his second career Tommy John surgery and spent much of the 2014 campaign with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, where he posted an excellent 1.93 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 37 1/3 innings of work.

Lightning in a bottle? I don’t like multiple-TJ guys… even Meds and Beachy. But Coffey comes on a no-risk minor league deal, so why not? 1.93 ERA over 37 1/3 innings is not too shabby, even if at AAA.

1.93 ERA in the hitter friendly PCL is phenomenal. One has to wonder what kind of smoke and mirrors he was using? I am surprised at no invite to camp but they must be planning to stash him away for a while.

V, anything Anthony Castrovince says, is gold with me! 😆
I do have to say, with all the arms we got, (beyond Shelby Miller) does make me feel better if Minor has a 5.50 ERA in June…and on a team not going anywhere, I will have to be very patient , just flip away perhaps when he’s starting, as we know they will give him every chance in the world to right the ship, and become someone worth trading again…
I do worry if Teheran, or Wood get hurt…but again enough prospects to save the day…
Its the bullpen that I have been a bit more worried about…too many guys just expected to be what they were a year or two ago…and like I have droned on before about, with little offense, it doesn’t matter how good the rotation is, a pitch hitter will come in the 6th, and Grilli, et all, will be worked hard…but, getting every single decent pitcher circa 2011 available , I can honestly see 1 or 2 coming through…so less worried overall about the pitching…now, from the offense side…..

Spoke with my old friend, RichBraves on the phone this afternoon, Agree, will be an interesting and challenging season for the Bravos, Also agree that it would be better to part ways with Uncle Melvin than have him poison the clubhouse again.

The Braves and outfielder Eric Young Jr. have agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The fleet-footed Young will compete with Zoilo Almonte for a role as Jonny Gomes‘ platoon partner in left field, Bowman notes. Young is represented by MVP Sports Group.

Young, 30 in May, offers blistering speed but struggled with the bat in 2014, hitting .229/.299/.311 in 316 plate appearances. Despite the low on-base percentage and limited at-bats, however, Young still managed to swipe 30 bases, and he stole 46 bags the year prior in 598 PAs. Over the life of his career, Young has batted .252/.320/.332 with 138 steals in 171 attempts (81 percent)…..
morehttp://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/02/braves-eric-young-jr-agree-to-minor-league-deal.html